The drinking age in NY didn't go up to 21 until '85. I turned 19 in November '84,
which was when I officially became legal to drink. The drinking age went to 21 December 1st of '85, at which point I was 20...But
there was NOT a grandfather clause, which meant I was officially under age again. No problem, like everyone else I knew, I
kept my fake ID.
Of course The Dive couldn't have checked to hard. Why? Well, I showed
up pretty early one evening in June of '85 (I figured there would be traffic from Long Island, and there was none). Now granted,
I was legal at the time, so this had nothing to do with me. But while hanging out, waiting on the Raunch Hands and Vipers
(with probably an hour before anyone else even showed up), I looked at my friend Andy and said, "I think that girl standing
in the back of the room is my friend Brenda from Rochester."
"Go say hi," he said.
"No, can't be."
"OK."
I looked again, saying, "It *really* looks like Brenda."
"Go say hi."
"Nope. Can't be."
"Why not?"
"Andy, Brenda lives in Rochester and she's 14. What would a 14 year-old
Rochester girl be doing hanging in the back room of The Dive...Especially when high school still has a couple
of weeks to go?"
"OK."
"But it REALLY looks like her."
At that point, he practically pushed me back there.
It was Brenda. So I asked her exactly what she was doing there.
"Lynn and I came down for the show last night. Where were you?" Note that
Lynn was a 17 year-old high school senior in Rochester.
"Seeing something else on Long Island. Back up. Where's Lynn?" I asked.
"Over there," Brenda pointed.
I didn't see anything. "Where?"
"There."
I saw nothing and was beginning to wonder about Brenda.
"Huh?"
"Oh..." and she went over to the table, and picked up the table cloth.
Lynn was passed out.
"Uh...What happened?" I asked.
"Oh," Brenda explained, "We've been here since 6, drinking pitchers."
[Note: At the time, People's Express flew 1 way off-peak from Rochester
to Newark for $19.]
Brenda was hardly the only 14 year-old to ever drink at The Dive. I mean,
I think back to Jenny and a few others.
To be fair, back then, letting 14 year-old girls into bars wasn't uncommon.
How do you think I knew Brenda? Or, for that matter, another girl I knew up there named Olivia. We'd hang out together at
Scorgie's seeing The Chesterfield Kings and many more.
I also remember that a bunch of Mod kids who'd go to The Dive, would scale
a wall if they didn't think they would get in up front. Guys had a harder time being underage, than girls did.
